Plasma cutting

Plasma cutting exploits a jet of ionized gas at extremely high temperature — plasma — to melt and expel metal along the cut path. The principle is electrical: a pilot arc ionizes the cutting gas (compressed air, nitrogen, oxygen or noble mixtures) that passes through a constricted nozzle, reaching temperatures between 20,000 and 50,000 K, sufficient to melt any conductive metal. The high velocity of the jet expels the molten material, creating a clean cut.

The technology is particularly suited to conductive metal sheets — carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminium, copper, brass — in thicknesses from 0.5 mm up to 80 mm and beyond for professional systems. Compared with CO₂ laser cutting on metals, plasma offers higher cutting speeds on thick materials and a significantly lower machine cost; cut quality (bevel, HAZ) is generally lower than high-end fibre lasers, but sufficient for mechanical structures, frames, panels and non-precision components. In the maker and workshop context, desktop CNC plasma machines and gantry-style systems represent an accessible route to sheet-metal cutting outside the laser budget.